


Missing Pieces

by orphan_account



Series: Enchanted Worlds [29]
Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:02:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When disaster strikes in a certain Series Seven world, it's up to Ahiru and Chrestomanci to help set things right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Siegfried ran.

Above him the pitch-dark skies roiled and churned; portions of it had taken on the appearance of a piece of cloth whose seams were about to be rent asunder. The thunder that boomed down from it made his ears ring, and he worried that the noise would block out the sounds of any pursuers until it was too late. As a prelude to the storm that surely was on the verge of bursting open, lightning crashed down in various places with a blinding glow that had him seeing spots. He could only hope that they didn’t do harm to any of the citizens.

Hope. Did he even have any of that left?

A white flash exploded before his eyes as a lightning bolt touched down too close for comfort – he could feel the air sizzle just inches from his face, and he flung an arm up too late to try and protect himself from being temporarily blinded. The electricity struck the street with enough force to dislodge some cobblestones, and he wound up tripping and falling face-first onto the ground.

He remained there, dazed, for what felt like an age as he waited for his vision to clear. He wiped his face, thinking as though from a distance that the street shouldn’t be wet, because it hadn’t started raining yet… only to withdraw his hand and see, amidst the fading spots, that his palm was red with someone else’s blood. It chilled him to the bone and made him start shaking.

A shout from what seemed like too close by reached his ears, and he realized that he had indeed remained prone for too long. Looking around, he saw a group of two or three – it was so hard to tell, clad in such dark clothing long after the sun had set – enemy soldiers coming up from an alley with their swords drawn. It made him remember that his own sword was no longer in his hand, and he looked about frantically for it even as he clambered to his feet. He spotted it only a couple feet away, where it must have landed when he’d fallen, and retrieved it in one smooth motion as he rushed towards it. He then turned round to face his foes. He’d been ordered back to the castle by Chrestomanci, but his sense of pride refused to allow him to run from a fight, not if it might protect any innocents in the area.

They fanned out as they drew closer, revealing that they indeed numbered three in all. They would attack from the front and his sides – Siegfried barely had time to throw up a barrier spell around his sides and at his back before all three charged at once. He dodged the attack of the one coming at his front, while the attempts of the other two bounced harmlessly off his shield and sent them reeling back, stunned for the moment by the sparks of magic fired off by the shield. He parried the next, and then feinted to lure them into an easily dodged strike, following that up with a fierce thrust of his blade into their gut. Their eyes rolled up in their head even as he withdrew his sword, and as they fell to the ground he leapt nimbly over the corpse and whirled round to face his other two attackers as they recovered from the effects of the shield spell.

As it turned out one had already recovered swifter than the other, and attempted an attack on his back, only to be repelled again, so they had no choice but to wait as their companion dashed forward. Their eyes seemed to gleam behind the avian mask that they and the rest of their compatriots wore, and they raised their sword over their head in an attempt to bring the blunt side down hard on Siegfried’s head. He easily jumped out of the way of the attack, however, and just as easily dodged the next one. This opponent was by far the largest and bulkiest of the three, and the prince didn’t doubt that there was genuine power behind those strikes, but it wouldn’t do them any good if nothing could connect.

Still, he had no time to tarry with them, for the third assailant was sure to recover soon, pitting him against two foes at once. So when his current opponent again tried to bring their sword down upon his head, he summoned a small whirlwind of pink flower petals beneath his own feet, just enough to propel him high enough to leap onto the shoulders of his foe. He drove his blade into their back, right where their heart should have been, and as they collapsed he jumped free.

And just in time, for the third enemy soldier lunged at him nearly the instant he landed. He dodged their first strike and then parried the next, noting that they were the opposite of the last one he’d faced: small and agile, not possessed of excess power but a potentially greater threat all the same because of their ability to move so quickly. Indeed, the next few attempted blows came in a flurry he found himself hard-pressed to fend off, and one managed to graze his side, drawing blood. Adrenaline and anger rose in him at that point, and he fought more fiercely, driving off each subsequent attack with ease; this reaction caused the person he fought to let out a low laugh behind their mask, only the second time all night that he’d heard any of these soldiers make any sort of verbal noise.

At that point they switched from barraging him with rapid-fire strikes to movements clearly intended to taunt and provoke him, to lure him into attacking the way he’d done with his first opponent. Despite the pain and the blood trickling from the wound in his side, Siegfried fought to keep a clear head, and not to give into his foe’s trickery. After about a minute or so, they seemed to grow tired of it, as he was not playing into their hands the way they wanted, and so they returned to striking quickly.

Luck was on their side, for as Siegfried attempted to dodge one of their attacks his foot landed on a wet cobblestone, and slid under him. He was able to maintain his footing, but in the temporary distraction his foe’s sword pierced his shoulder – not too deeply, but enough to make it impossible to fight effectively with that arm anymore. Silently thanking his sword instructor for teaching him to fight with both hands, he quickly switched his sword to his left hand and parried the next blow just in time to avoid having his leg pierced as well. He was not nearly so talented with his left hand, as it wasn’t his dominant hand, but he had confidence that he could do well enough with it to defeat this final opponent. He dodged another attack and then stumbled back, feigning more pain than he actually felt, in order to lure them into an attempted strike that left them wide open for a stab through the neck. He withdrew his blade and didn’t wait for them to hit the ground before turning his back and running, off in the direction of the castle.

He was forced to slow his pace, however, as running over the cobblestones jarred his injuries and caused him further pain. His breathing sounded loud and harsh to his ears, and he silently prayed that he wouldn’t encounter any more soldiers in this last stretch before the palace gates. He prayed also for the safety of those he cared about – had his parents been evacuated safely? What of everyone else in the palace? Where was Lohengrin, would he survive this night? He hadn’t seen him in some time. And what of Chrestomanci, where was she? She’d promised to meet him back at the castle to secure it, but as he drew nearer to the gates he saw no sign of her.

He saw no sign of any other living being either as he reentered the palace, something he regarded as both blessing and curse. If it was an indication that his parents and the other nobles and servants had indeed escaped with their lives intact, then he could set his mind at ease. At the same time, however, the eeriness of walking through silent halls strewn with the bodies of knights of his realm and enemy soldiers alike could not be denied.

Weary, in pain, and beginning to feel unsettled to the point of true fear, he nearly collapsed into one of the empty thrones in the great hall when he reached it. This room alone was untouched by the dead, and the only blood on the marble floors was his own as it dripped from his open wounds. As it was, he clutched at its arms for support, feeling dizzy, and stared up at the stained glass depiction of a great swan that was set into the wall high above his parents’ thrones.

“Ah, Prince Siegfried. Thank you for delivering yourself to me. It saves me the time of searching the town for you.”

A low, harsh laugh that resembled the cawing of a bird echoed through the room, and Siegfried’s blood ran cold at the sound of it. He allowed himself one wince of pain as he drew himself up to his full height, and then set his face in an expression of cold defiance as he released his grip on the throne and turned to face the wicked enchanter known only as the Raven. An almost impossibly tall man, he, like his underlings, hid his face behind a mask, and cloaked himself in black. His thin, bird-like frame belied the immense magical power that all who’d heard of him knew lurked within, making him imposing despite himself. Behind that mask his eyes glittered cruelly, and the sound of his laughter ringing through the hall again was so discordant and awful that it effectively distracted Siegfried – for the moment – from the bulky object concealed within the folds of his dark robes.

“You will not take this kingdom.” Siegfried fought to keep his voice level. “I will not permit it.”

“Oh, won’t you?” The Raven laughed once more. “Bold words for an injured princeling who stands alone, bleeding on his own floor.”

“My wounds are hardly life-threatening.” He gripped his sword tighter. “I possess enough strength yet to deal with the likes of you. And besides, I am not as alone as you believe.” _Please,_ he prayed. _Please let that not be a bluff. Chrestomanci, I need you here. Lohengrin, I need you here. Come to me._ For all his brave words, he did not feel nearly so confident as he appeared about his chances against this monster who had come to ravage his kingdom, not alone. He desperately needed his most trusted friends and allies, and he needed them _now_.

“An interesting bluff, but clearly one nonetheless, for I see no allies at your side.” The Raven laughed scornfully. “Unless you have friends that can make themselves invisible and silent? No, Prince, I am afraid you are quite alone, and quite defeated.” He paused, and then let out another harsh _caw_ of a laugh as he withdrew the hidden object he held and brought it into the light. “No, allow me to rephrase – it is _you_ who should be afraid.”

Icy cold tendrils rushed down Siegfried’s spine, but he struggled to keep his expression impassive as he let his gaze drop to the strange weapon in the Raven’s claw-like gloved hands. It had the vague appearance of a musket of some sort, but the make and style were wholly unknown to him, and the metal shone strangely, unlike any in his own world. “What is… what is that?”

“I see you’ve caught on.” The Raven smiled behind his mask; it went unseen by Siegfried but could be heard in his voice. “I am not the most well-connected man in the Related Worlds just yet, but I possess enough influence to have gained possession of _this_ – a weapon manufactured in Series One, of such terrifying power they have outlawed it even there. It should have been impossible to obtain, but fortune favored me and I was able to locate one on their black market. It will only work once, but then…” He aimed it squarely at Siegfried’s chest. “I only need one shot.”

Anger rippled to life in Siegfried’s eyes. “Do you insult me, then, by assuming I could not evade such a shot? I am not yet so incapacitated that it would not be a simple thing to do!”

“Oh, I am certain you could.” The Raven tilted his head. “But are you prepared for the consequences if you do, Prince? You see, my plans for you and this kingdom are greatly dependent on the use of this weapon. If you were to ruin them, I would be forced to abandon them.”

“That is fine with me.” Siegfried glared at him. “If that is supposed to make me stand in place and submit to your attack, you are sorely mistaken.”

“Hush, Prince. I am not finished speaking yet.” The cruel eyes flashed behind the mask. “If I must abandon my plans for you and your kingdom, then I would unleash the full force of the storm that brews in the sky – surely you must have noticed it. And when the rains touch your citizens – and they will, for my forces will make certain of it – they will all be irrevocably transformed into mere crows, and you will reign over a kingdom of birds. I, meanwhile, will move on to conquering another kingdom, in another world, and inflict suffering on yet more innocents.” His voice turned taunting. “Your pure heart that seeks to protect all cannot abide that, can it? Therefore, the choice is yours – stand and take the full force of my weapon, or see your people lost forever.”

“What is there to stop you from unleashing that storm anyway once I am dead?” Siegfried’s voice shook slightly, both from horror and from rage. “I do not trust the word of one such as you!”

“Dead? Whyever would I want you _dead_ , Prince?” The Raven sounded bemused. “You misunderstand. This weapon will render you helpless in exactly the way I require, but it will not leave you dead. I have no use for you dead.”

“Then why did your soldiers seek to kill me in the streets?” Siegfriend gestured to his wounds. “Your words do not match what I experienced tonight.”

“Another misunderstanding, Prince.” The Raven shook his head. “They were instructed to wound and weaken you so that you could easily be brought to me. I need you _alive_ , not dead.”

Siegfried took a moment to review the movements of his assailants so far that night, to assess any truth that might be in the Raven’s words. A heavy weight settled onto his shoulders as he reached his conclusion, but he did not allow them to slump. “So what you are saying is… I must trade myself for the safety of my people and that of countless others I do not know?”

The eyes behind the mask gleamed with triumph. “Have you made your choice then, Prince?”

“Yes.” He straightened himself up as much as he could. “I cannot allow you to harm one single person, not if I can do something to prevent it. If it will protect others, then you may do to me what you wish.”

“Thank you, Prince.” The Raven laughed louder than ever, even as he readied the weapon for firing. “I will.”

As he waited for the incoming blast, Siegfried whispered Chrestomanci’s name under his breath, a last-ditch effort to avoid whatever horrible plans this evil enchanter had in mind for him by summoning her to his side. He had little hope left at this point, but he poured every ounce of it into praying both that the Raven would not realize what he was doing, and also that Chrestomanci would arrive in time.

It would be his last conscious thought before all went white around him.


	2. Chapter Two

Even after a full year of living at the castle Ahiru had never properly adjusted to the idea of changing clothes for dinner. It wasn’t something she hated, necessarily, but it seemed like such a strange thing still, to wear an outfit for only a few hours at most, and merely to eat the evening meal with family in. To change your attire for a formal dinner party or special occasion made sense, but not for an everyday occurrence, and it seemed awfully hard on those staff who were assigned to do everyone’s laundry to have extra clothes to wash and dry. That they likely used magic for it didn’t make a whit of difference to her.

It was something that, in fact, she’d never been aware was even a done thing until her arrival there. Her uncle had never required it of her, wealthy as he was – perhaps it was owed to his origins as a commoner who’d acquired his fortune by work, illegal and immoral work though it was. And it _certainly_ hadn’t been done at the orphanage, where it was a rare child indeed that possessed more than a few scraps of clothing. The only person she’d ever had the nerve to ask about it was Rue, who’d shrugged and told her she didn’t know either, that it was a peculiarity she’d never bothered to question, not as a scared child in an environment wholly alien to her, who was desperate to fit in and not make a fool of herself. That no one here would have been unkind enough to laugh at her was knowledge that had come later, much as a similar realization had taken time to dawn on Ahiru.

To be fair to tonight, though, it _was_ a special occasion, so she supposed she shouldn’t feel too bad about it for once. Ahiru sighed, and pursed her lips as she considered the dresses in her wardrobe. Last year her best dress had been a drab grey thing that had gotten wrinkled in her suitcase; now she had almost more pretty dresses than she knew what to do with. She’d hung onto that old grey dress out of a weird sort of sentimentality over her first night here, but there was no question of wearing it even for nostalgia’s sake, because it hadn’t gotten any prettier in the interim. She hadn’t grown at all in the past year so there was no doubt it still fit, but it wasn’t nearly nice enough to celebrate the anniversary in. So she selected one of her favorite dresses, a blue and white confection with a sparkly skirt that she’d worn on more than one occasion, most memorably – to her, at least – on her first date with Fakir. It seemed somehow appropriate to wear it again tonight.

She’d just finished fastening everything and smoothing the skirt down when someone knocked on the door. “Ahiru?”

“Oh! F-Fakir!” She practically bounced up and down just at the sound of his voice. “C-come in! It’s open!” Remembering in time, she unlocked it with her magic as she said the words. The knob turned, and Fakir appeared in the doorway, but hesitated there, staring at her. Ahiru frowned. “Wh-what is it? Is something wrong?”

“No, not all.” Fakir shook his head. “Just…” His voice dropped slightly, and his cheeks started to turn a familiar rosy shade. “This is… how we first saw each other again last year. Remember?”

“Oh! Oh yeah!” Ahiru’s expression brightened, and she beamed at him for a second before hurrying over to meet him as he stepped fully into the room and closed the door. “Wow, it feels like so long ago when you put it like that… sometimes it barely feels like a year’s passed but when I really think about how much has happened and changed it feels kinda like longer, or maybe just right, I don’t know… but I’ll always remember that day, always.”

Fakir’s throat tightened at the memory. “So will I. I just…” Shame crept into his voice. “I wish I’d been kinder to you at first. More welcoming. I’m –”

“It’s okay,” Ahiru interrupted him, lifting one tiny finger to place on his lips. A tremble went through him at her touch, but she refused to let it distract her; as fun as that would be, this was _really_ important. “Fakir, I’ve _told_ you. I forgave you for that a long time ago, a-and I understand, and it’s not like you were completely awful, and you’ve more than made up for it by now anyway, so please, try to forgive yourself. Okay?”

She withdrew her finger, but Fakir gently caught her wrist and kissed the back of her hand; now it was her turn to shiver. “I don’t know if it really works like that – I don’t think I can erase what I did simply by being kind afterwards,” he said quietly. “But if it means that much to you, I’ll try to forgive myself. Although I can’t promise anything more than that.”

“Th-that’s okay! As long as you mean it and you’re really trying, and I know you will, then that’s enough for me!” Ahiru tugged on the hand that held hers and brought it to her lips to kiss as he’d kissed hers. A faint smell of ink reached her nose, and she could see it dried on his cuticles. A shudder went down her spine – it was easier to ignore in class when the assignments occupied her mind, but in moments like these she couldn’t help but associate that smell with the way he always touched her cheek right before kissing her.

As if he’d read her thoughts and knew what she wanted, Fakir slipped his hand out of her grasp and stroked her cheek with his fingertips before laying his palm there, against her soft skin. Her face turned pink and her eyelids lowered in anticipation even as she began to raise herself onto her toes to meet him. Fakir smiled, idly rubbing her cheekbone with his thumb, and then bent down so that he could kiss her. Her lips were already parted, and he gave her a small peck before pressing his mouth fully against hers. Ahiru let out a muffled little sigh, as she always did when they kissed, and Fakir’s heart fluttered at the sound of it before beginning to race from the heady sensation of kissing her. She braced herself with one hand on his shoulder and the other on his chest, and he further supported her with a hand at her waist, much like he did when they danced a pas de deux together. Fakir’s lips were soft and full and warm, and just wet enough, and Ahiru found herself straining to be as tall as she could to better press herself to him. His head spun as she nipped at his lower lip and then returned to fully kissing him, shyly letting her tongue slip into his mouth. They touched their tongues together, sliding them against each other before withdrawing again, and Ahiru unconsciously gripped Fakir’s shoulder a little tighter as the kiss continued.

Both their faces were flushed when they finally broke off the kiss, and they needed a moment before they could speak, their rapid breathing loud in the otherwise quiet room. It dimly occurred to Ahiru to be glad that events of the past year hadn’t _totally_ lined up with today’s – she had no desire to have Uzura invade her room right now and ask what she and Fakir were doing and how lovey-dovey they were – before Fakir distracted her by pulling a slender white box out of his pants pocket. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. “Wh-what’s that? Did… did you… is that for _me?_ ”

“Yeah.” Fakir nodded. His voice sounded as breathless as hers did, and his heart had yet to slow down completely. “I… I know it isn’t really our anniversary in that sense, but it’s still… this day is still important to me and I wanted to…”

“No, I understand!” Ahiru shook her head. “It’s special to me too, and I got you something too, b-but I’ll wait till I open this.”

“All right.” A fresh blush blooming on his face, Fakir handed her the box, his heart fluttering anew at the brush of her fingers on his as she took it from him. “I… if you don’t like it, I understand, don’t feel bad…”

“Oh, Fakir, don’t be silly.” Ahiru let out a little giggle. “You always get me nice stuff I really like.” She would’ve said more, but she opened the box just then and gasped. On a bed of pale blue velvet sat the necklace Fakir had had Charon help him make: two translucent heart-shaped gems, one red and the other white, had been seamlessly connected, and then strung from a simple dark chain. Her hands trembled as she lifted it from the box, and so did her voice when she spoke. “Oh… oh, _Fakir_ , it’s…” She swallowed past the lump that formed suddenly in her throat. “It’s so _beautiful…_ ”

“You like it, then?” Relief swept through him. “I – I picked out the gems when we were in Series Five, at a market one day, and then after we got back I brought them to Charon and had him help me turn them into a necklace for you. The chain is iron-free, of course,” he added. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Oh, I know.” Ahiru set the box down on a little table near her bedroom door and clutched the necklace to her chest as her eyes shone with joy and unshed tears. “Oh Fakir… thank you so much… it’s so beautiful, I love it… it’s perfect.”

“I’m glad.” Fakir hesitated, and then reached out his hand to touch hers where she still held the necklace. “Could I… do you want me to put it on for you?”

“Oh! Yes!” Ahiru nodded eagerly, and put the necklace in his outstretched hand. “Please do!”

“All right.” Fakir moved behind her, and unclasped the necklace. She’d put her pretty hair up in a braided bun for tonight, so he didn’t have to move aside the lengthy braid she usually wore it in. He slipped the chain around her neck and redid the clasp, not missing that she trembled at the brush of his fingertips on the back of her neck. He stroked her there a little on purpose when the necklace was secure, and then bent down to press a light kiss to her skin right above the chain, making her gasp. He moved back around to stand in front of her again after that, and wasn’t surprised that she was blushing once more. “There. All done.”

“Wow…” Ahiru looked down at where the joined hearts rested just below her collarbone, and touched her finger to their smooth surfaces. “How – how does it look?”

“It… you... look good.” Heat crept into his face again, and he could feel it rising into his ears as well. He hated being so shy and awkward still when he wanted to tell Ahiru exactly how beautiful she really was, but that was something he couldn’t help. Hopefully with more time it would change, because she deserved to hear these things from him, and spoken better than his clunky attempts. “It… suits you.”

“Oh, good!” Ahiru beamed up at him. “Th-thank you, again… o-oh, and, and I better get your present too!” She darted over to her dresser, and returned with a slightly larger black box. “H-here, I – I hope you like this…”

“I’m sure I will.” Fakir took the box from her and removed the lid, drawing his breath in sharply as he saw what lay inside: nestled in layers of velvety black cloth to protect it sat a small crystal vase with an opalescent sheen that held a single, long-stemmed crystal rose. The forest green stem and leaves stood out in vivid contrast to the pale vase, and the delicately shaped, brilliant red petals sparkled in the late afternoon light that shone through Ahiru’s window. “This is… where did you get something like this?”

“Do you like it?” Ahiru’s brow knit with worry. “I – I saved up my pocket money and had it specially made by the glass-blower in the village, cause I couldn’t stop thinking about how you said that stuff about red roses symbolizing true love in the language of flowers and I wanted to give you something to do with that and it’d probably be better for the anniversary of us being together or something, but I just…” She trailed off. “Is – is it okay?”

“Of course it is. More than okay.” Fakir’s voice was hoarse, and when he met her eyes she thought they seemed oddly bright and a little shiny, matching the way the rose’s leaves glistened in the light. “Thank you, Ahiru… it’s perfect.” He carefully set rose and box alike down on the table, beside the one her necklace had been in, and then before she could say anything pulled her into a tight hug and closed his eyes as he rested his head against hers. “Thank you.”

“Of – of course, y-you’re welcome.” Ahiru slipped her arms around him and leaned her face against his chest as she relaxed in his embrace. “I love you, Fakir… I’m so happy I’m here, and that we have each other… I’m so happy being with you…”

“I love you too.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re here too, and that we can be like this… I’m…” His voice shook. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life, and that would be true even if we weren’t together like this… but I’m selfishly happy that we are.”

“Oh no, no…” Ahiru shook her head and pulled back to look at him. “It’s not selfish, or if it is I’m selfish too… but, but I think it’s okay. Being friends and nothing else would be good too, but it’s wonderful to be like this and it’s okay to be happy we are, cause I remember how sad I felt when I thought you could never love me, and you must’ve felt so sad too when you thought that about _me_ , so… so don’t feel bad for being happy, okay?” She paused. “I mean, that’s why you were so distant at first, right? Cause you thought I’d reject your friendship, so it must’ve really hurt to develop romantic feelings for me and think all over again that you were gonna be rejected, so… so please be happy I didn’t, I want you to be happy without feeling guilty about it…”

“All right.” Fakir couldn’t help but smile, both because of what she’d said and the way she’d said it. He didn’t think he could ever get tired of those rambling, run-on sentences of hers.  “I won’t. I mean, I won’t feel guilty about being happy with you,” he added, blushing, and the color deepened when Ahiru giggled. He pretended to scowl at her laughter, and took her hand. “Come on, you.” He tugged gently. “Let’s get to dinner, we don’t want to be late.”

“Oh! Oh, right!” Ahiru cast a nervous glance at the clock on the wall, and saw that they’d indeed be late if they tarried much longer. “Y-yeah, let’s go!”

They walked hand in hand all the way to the private family dining room, a fact that didn’t escape Uzura. “Ooooohhh! Lovey-dovey zura!” she crowed from her seat at the table, clapping her own hands as she saw Ahiru’s tiny fingers still clasped in Fakir’s longer, larger ones.

“ _Very_ lovey-dovey.” Rue smirked at their blushes, and her eyes gleamed as she caught sight of the necklace. “Oh… new jewelry, Ahiru? I don’t remember seeing _that_ piece before.”

“Th-that’s because Fakir gave it to me just now.” Ahiru lifted a hand to touch the necklace again. “Isn’t it pretty?”

“It’s lovely.” Rue’s expression softened into a genuinely warm smile. “Good work finding that, Fakir. And… happy anniversary, Ahiru. Even though I already said so this morning.”

“Th-thank you!” Ahiru beamed at her, and then settled into her seat at the table while Fakir took the empty one beside her.

“Indeed.” Chrestomanci smiled. “I echo Rue’s sentiments – happy anniversary, Ahiru.” She raised the glass of wine that had already been poured for her, and Rue, Fakir, and Ahiru did likewise with their own glasses of sparkling fruit juice. “To you, Ahiru – and to many more happy years here.”

“Th-thank you!” They clinked their glasses together, and included Uzura’s small plastic cup in the toast as well when she insisted on not being left out.  “Wow, a whole year here… a lot’s really happened, hasn’t it? I mean, some stuff was bad, but not that much, and mostly it’s been really really good.” She wiggled her toes in her shoes, not wanting to bounce up and down in her seat and jostle the table. “I’m so happy I’m here with all of you.”

“I’m glad,” Chrestomanci said, smiling again. Beside her, Rue smiled as well, and reached a hand over to briefly squeeze Ahiru’s. “It has been eventful, yes… and even if you cannot yourself see the changes in you, rest assured that I do. You are different from the person you were at this time last year, whether you feel it or not.”

“N-no, I… I definitely do.” Ahiru nodded. “I know I’ve changed since I came here, I really have.” She might not have grown physically, but her emotional growth was clear. That first night here last year, when she was so scared and feeling out of place and out of her depth, she never would’ve imagined how much she could grow and thrive here. But she had. She’d made friends, learned to harness and control her power, fallen in love, gained some measure of confidence in herself, and found a home, a _real_ home, and a family. At heart she was still the same person she’d been last year, but she was happier and more accomplished. “A-and it’s all because of all of you… thank you!”

They all spoke at once to both tell her she was welcome and to encourage her to give herself more credit, before being interrupted by the arrival of the food. Ahiru’s eyes lit up in fresh delight as she saw the meal – Ebine had gone all out in preparing dishes she knew were her favorites. Trout meuniere, roasted potatoes, a warm beet salad, and freshly baked bread sat hot and fragrant and tempting on the table for all of less than a minute before they began to serve themselves, filling their plates with delicious food. On a kitchen cart parked a safe distance away from Uzura’s grasping hands rested their dessert: a yellow cake with the last strawberries of the season baked into it, a sweet pink glaze dripping down its sides and its top graced with more fresh strawberry slices and some fondant roses.

Not all of them would get to enjoy it, however. Midway through the meal Chrestomanci’s fork clattered onto her plate beside her half-eaten trout, causing some of the vinaigrette from the beet salad to splash onto the pristine tablecloth. All eyes flew to her at the sound but she merely shook her head. “I must go – I’m sorry,” she managed before teleporting herself away, her eyes briefly flickering over to Rue just before she vanished.

“Oooohhh?” Uzura paused as she chewed on her bread. “Mama had to go zura?”

“Looks that way.” Rue deliberately changed her curious frown into a more neutral expression, and shrugged. “I’m sure it’s not anything too terrible, and she’ll be back for cake. And if she isn’t, we’ll save her some.”

“I guess.” Ahiru cast a sad look at Chrestomanci’s abandoned plate. “I mean, I don’t mind, I know it’s her job, but it’s too bad she couldn’t finish eating first.”

“Yes, I suppose it is… and just think, that’ll be _your_ life someday.” Rue delicately speared a potato with her fork, and a mischievous glint came into her eyes as she looked over at Ahiru and Fakir. “You’d better hope that you don’t get called away yourself while in a _truly_ awkward… position, shall we say.”

Ahiru’s jaw dropped and her face went bright red in an instant, as did Fakir’s; he opened his mouth too, to splutter angrily at Rue, but the tables turned on her within seconds as Uzura reminded them of her presence and close attention to their conversation. “What do you mean zura?”

“Oh - ! I – that is…” Rue floundered, and despite their mortification Ahiru and Fakir couldn’t help but be relieved that it was now her on the spot, having forgotten for one critical moment that a young child was listening as she delivered her innuendo-laden teasing. “Well, I mean… it’d be pretty awkward if Ahiru got summoned while she was taking a bath, right? Or swimming! Cause some people wouldn’t really be impressed with her arriving suddenly and dripping all over their nice floors, you know? Ahahahaha…”

“Ooooohhh. I see zura.” Uzura nodded, and then resumed messily eating her food.

“That was your own fault, and you have only yourself to blame for it,” Fakir said in a low voice.

“I’m well aware, thank you.” Rue stabbed another potato. “Now let’s drop it before she hears us and asks more questions.”

“Hmph.” He hated conceding anything to Rue, but unless he wanted to find Uzura’s curiosity directed at him and Ahiru there was really no other choice. So he simply grunted irritably and went back eating.

The rest of the meal passed peacefully, but Chrestomanci didn’t return before dessert, nor did she return afterwards. The rest of the cake was carted back to the kitchen with instructions to save a slice for her when she came back, and the older three took on the job of entertaining Uzura until it was time for her to go to bed. She tried to insist on staying up to see her mama come back, but they eventually convinced her that her mother might be back very late and she’d get in trouble for being up past her bedtime. The idea of having sweets denied her for at least a full day was enough to put fear into her, and so Uzura settled into bed without further protests.

“Honestly, we all should be going to bed ourselves,” Rue said with a sigh as they walked away from Uzura’s room. “Much as I’d like to be relaxing on a Series Five beach tomorrow, we’ve got lessons. And _early_.” She shuddered. “Back to our old schedule again.”

“Oh! Oh, that’s right!” Ahiru flushed. In all the excitement and emotion of celebrating the anniversary of her arrival, she’d nearly forgotten that some of her apprehension last year was due to finding that she’d be thrown straight into her new classroom the following morning. Of course the schedule would’ve remained the same, there was no reason to expect it to change. How silly she felt, to let that slip her mind. “I – I guess we should…”

“Oh, don’t worry too much.” Rue reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s not that late in the evening, you can stay up a little longer and read or something, if you wish. I just don’t think we should all head into the playroom or something and let time slip away from us. And after all, it’s not like we have far to go to get to school, we have only to walk down the hall. I only meant that I want to be well-rested, particularly as I was up late last night.” She sighed again. “You’d think I’d have already learned to get myself re-adjusted well enough in advance of classes resuming, but no…”

“Th-that’s true…” Ahiru relaxed. Back at the orphanage, they’d all had to get ready and hurry through breakfast before leaving the house for a school that was a few streets away, and even that short distance had been enough to make her panic every day, prone as she was to waking up late and to being a bit late in general. Living here, with a maid that promptly woke her up in time and a classroom that was just down the next hall, she’d learned to relax more, especially once she settled into learning magic and found out that she really did have the talent for it. “I’m silly…”

“Maybe a little, but it’s understandable – it’s only your second year, after all.” Rue smiled. “In any case, I’m going to leave you two here and get to bed early.” She hugged Ahiru, and then opened her bedroom door. “Goodnight!”

They bade her goodnight, and then continued down the hall all the way to the end, where Ahiru’s room was. Fakir expected her to stop at his door to bid him goodnight, but when she walked past it he merely raised an eyebrow and followed her.

“I – I, um…” Ahiru twisted her hands in front of her, a blush rising in her cheeks. “I – I am gonna go to bed, soon, but first… you wanna come in? F-for a little while?” She tried to wink at him.

Fakir’s face went from normal to beet-red in record time. “You – you mean… to, to…”

“Y-yeah! Unless, unless you think I mean to do _that!_ ” Her eyes widened as she realized what it was he might be thinking. “I don’t mean _that,_ I know you’re not ready and I’m not either, I meant…” She lowered her voice a little. “Just… kissing and stuff, you know?”

“Oh.” Fakir relaxed a little. “Yeah, that’s… I’d like that.” The admittance kept his face the same shade of crimson, confirming for him that it was _definitely_ still going to be a while before he was ready to move on to the step in their physical relationship that she was alluding to. He didn’t have any more experience than Ahiru did, so he too needed for them to take their time progressing gradually.

“Okay, good.” Ahiru blushed and smiled, and then tugged on his hand to pull him into her room as she opened the door. She closed it behind them, and then to Fakir’s surprise headed over to sit on her bed. “Is – is this okay?” she asked, seeing his startled expression. “I mean, we did stuff in that bed in Series Five, so I feel like we should be all right with sitting on my bed or your bed if you want when we do stuff here...”

“Yeah, of course it is.” Fakir shook his head, even as he followed her and sat down beside her. “I just… I don’t know why I was surprised, because you’re right, we did do that… we just haven’t yet here for some reason.”

“Well, now we will.” Ahiru smiled again, and scooted closer to him.

Fakir smiled back, and then lifted his hand to cup her cheek, even as he leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers. There was something infinitely pleasant about the brush of her bangs against his skin, about the feel of her soft cheek beneath his fingertips, the sound of her breathing quickening. He first kissed her cheek, so tenderly she trembled, and then tilted his head to kiss her mouth. Ahiru’s eyes fluttered shut and she enjoyed the feeling of their eyelashes touching as he leaned his face closer and the little sound he made just before their lips touched – more than a sigh, but not quite a moan. She made a small humming noise against his mouth as they kissed, soft and chaste at first, but slowly and steadily deepening. She slipped her arms around his neck, and Fakir shivered as she threaded her fingers into his hair and touched the back of his neck. His hand still held her face while the other was positioned at her waist, and the feel of it sent warmth spreading all through her. She moved one of her hands down to rub his chest through his shirt, enjoying the feel of him and the muffled noise he made against her mouth.

He soon moved his hand too, from her waist to her back, and as he softly caressed her there she moaned into the kiss. The sound made Fakir’s hands tremble, and he kissed her with increased intensity. Ahiru’s fingers tightened in his hair, and she pressed her tongue against his lips, licking them before sliding it into his open mouth. He met her tongue with his, and sucked on it a bit before releasing her and pulling back, his breathing becoming more erratic as he heard her gasping in the wake of that last portion of the kiss. He bent his head to kiss her neck above her new necklace and was rewarded with another little moan. Her skin smelled sweetly, faintly floral, in a way that was pleasant rather than cloying, and he gave in to his sudden desire to press his face against her throat, losing himself for a moment in the scent and softness of her. Ahiru trembled as she felt his breath there, the brush of his lips, and when he pressed a kiss to the spot where her pulse throbbed rapidly she whimpered.

They carried on like that for a little while longer before he finally left, giving her one last goodnight kiss before he went. Ahiru readied herself for bed, still in a happy haze from kissing Fakir, and soon after her head sank onto the pillow she drifted off with a smile on her face. She dreamed of a party in honor of her anniversary, or maybe her birthday; she couldn’t be sure of the exact occasion, knowing only that it was much more crowded than tonight’s small private dinner. Some of the guests were people she would’ve invited to a larger gathering, while others were those she definitely would not have wanted to see, and still others were figments of her imagination whose faces blended into each other. One by one they all left, leaving her alone with Fakir, and he spun her into a perfect pas de deux before carrying her to one of the beds from that Series Five house and laying her down on it to kiss her.

As she dreamed, the new necklace on her bedside table lit up for a moment with a flash of red light. It faded away into the darkness as swiftly as it had happened, however, and Ahiru’s sleep was not interrupted.

Yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Ahiru found the door ajar when she got to the playroom. Pushing it open a little more, she saw Fakir sitting at the table, engrossed in a book. Smiling to herself she opened the door the rest of the way, careful not to make any noise, and then tiptoed over to his side, where she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Morning, Fakir.”

“Morning.” He smiled back at her even as he marked his place in the book. With, she couldn’t help but notice, the duck bookmark she’d bought him last year. As for Fakir, his attention was drawn to the piece of jewelry around Ahiru’s neck, his gaze straying down to twin gems on the chain. “You… wore it.”

“Of course!” Ahiru nodded. “I really love it! A-and I wanna wear it every day, cause it’s so pretty and it means so much that you gave it to me.”

“I’m glad.” Fakir smiled again, and leaned over to kiss her cheek, right at the same moment that Rue walked in.

“Morning, lovebirds,” she greeted them, the last word barely intelligible thanks to a yawn taking over.

Fakir’s cheeks reddened slightly, but he managed to maintain an impassive expression nevertheless. “Not enough sleep last night?”

“Ugh.” Rue flopped down into her chair with a long-suffering sigh. “It was one of _those_ nights. You must know what I mean – where you _know_ you have to get up early the next day, so your brain frets and fusses and keeps you from properly sleeping.” She let out another huge yawn. “Worst part is, I have no idea what in the world had me so stressed out. It doesn’t make a whit of sense.”

“Maybe it was cause of Chrestomanci?” Ahiru suggested as she sat down beside Fakir. “How she just left during dinner when someone summoned her and she wasn’t back before we went to bed and we have no idea where she went or if everything is okay and all.”

“Could’ve been.” Rue shrugged. “I really don’t know. But either way, I hope Ebine made that tea nice and strong this morning. I could use it.”

She put her chin in her hands and closed her eyes, intending to rest them for a few minutes until Anne-Erina arrived. As it turned out though, she barely had thirty seconds before she bustled in, bright and cheery and ready to fetch breakfast from the dumbwaiter. Rue directed a few weak glares at her back, not really angry, but grumpy that someone who had risen earlier than she had could be so chipper. Ahiru had to hide a giggle behind her hand at that, and even Fakir looked vaguely amused. Finally, once breakfast had been set on the table and Anne-Erina had bustled back out, the three set to eating. Ahiru and Fakir ate normally, but Rue wound up consuming more tea than food in hopes that the additional caffeine would help her wake up better, and that the lack of a heavy meal in her stomach would aid her too.

After they’d finished it was time to head into the classroom for their first lesson of the new school year. Mr. Katz had been bent over his desk – doing what, they didn’t know – but when they opened the door he looked up at them with bloodshot eyes that had large, dark circles under them. “Mmmm… morning,” he said, in the croaky voice of someone who had had maybe two hours, at best, of sleep. “Pull out your textbooks, we will start with… mrrrrr… math today.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who couldn’t sleep,” Rue murmured to herself, her words drowned out by Mr. Katz letting out a loud noise that sounded more like a yowl than a yawn. She gave him another curious glance, and then pulled out her math textbook as she stifled a yawn of her own.

She felt no satisfaction over not having been alone in a sleepless night, however – her curiosity at the situation was too overwhelming. This was not like Mr. Katz at _all_. Not once in his years of employment here had she ever seen him start the first day of school like this, and she vividly remembered the time he’d told them about how he spent most of his summer “holiday” drawing up lesson plans months in advance. Possibly he’d slacked off a little this year now that he had a girlfriend to occupy free time with, but she doubted he’d have put so much off that he stayed up all night before the first day back. This was just… _weird_.

She put it out of her mind, though, wanting to concentrate on her work and figuring it was none of her business anyway. As the lessons went on and they covered various subjects Rue found herself beginning to wake up, thanks to the tea and her smaller portions at breakfast. Mr. Katz, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Cup after cup of steaming, fragrant chai appeared like clockwork on his desk, but he continued to droop more and more as the hours dragged by. When lunch time finally arrived he seemed quite as relieved as his students, if not more so.

A nice hearty and hot meal awaited them on the table as they returned to the playroom, and Rue’s almost painfully empty stomach was grateful. The small breakfast had caught up with her, as she should’ve known it would, and she didn’t wait for the other two to sit down before digging in, serving herself both halves of a warm turkey sandwich and a large pile of chips that had been seasoned with fresh herbs and garlic, and sprinkled with a bit of cheese.

“I wonder why Mr. Katz is so tired,” Ahiru said after a few bites of her own food. “Maybe he had to help Chrestomanci with something when she got back and he didn’t get to sleep.”

“Huh, could be.” Rue shrugged, and then took a sip of her lemonade. “I didn’t think of that – I just thought maybe he’d been up late going over lesson plans or something, even though that’s not really like him at all. But that makes sense.”

“Poor Mr. Katz.” Ahiru frowned. “At least he can go take a nap now, though, cause Chrestomanci’s doing our magic stuff in the afternoons this year.”

“I kind of wish I could take one,” Rue admitted. “But I don’t want to miss out on what’s sure to be really interesting and important, so I’ll stick around.”

“I don’t think she’d let you ditch class anyway,” Fakir pointed out.

“True.” Rue sighed. “Oh well, it was a nice thought, if nothing else.”

She had every intention of curling up in one of the playroom armchairs and dozing during the rest of the small break they had between regular lessons and magic lessons, but she didn’t get the chance. No sooner had they all pushed away their empty plates than the playroom door swung open. Chrestomanci stood there, looking even more exhausted than Mr. Katz had. “My apologies for intruding upon your break, but there is something urgent I must speak to you about, Ahiru.” She paused, and glanced over at Rue. “And… you as well, Rue, you had better come too. Fakir, you can stay here.”

“All right.” He caught Ahiru’s eye as she rose to go with the other two, and shrugged, as if to indicate that he wasn’t bothered by being left out of this. Ahiru nodded in understanding before turning and leaving.

“What’s this about?” Rue asked as she followed Ahiru and Chrestomanci down the hall. “Why isn’t Fakir allowed to come with? Are we going to have to keep this secret from him?”

“Not at all.” Chrestomanci shook her head. “You are permitted to tell him about it later, it is merely…” She paused to stifle a small yawn. “It does not directly concern him, so I thought it kinder to let him enjoy the rest of the breather between lessons.”

“Oh, okay.” Rue nodded, and so did Ahiru, who resolved to tell him later of whatever this was now that she knew she could. She hated the idea of keeping secrets from him

Chrestomanci led them to a hallway they never went into, not even to pass through on their way to the library or some other destination within the castle. It seemed quieter here, more out of the way, like a small hidden clearing in a forest. Rue and Ahiru exchanged curious glances, but didn’t say anything. At the end of the hall awaited an old oak door with many scratches in it that Chrestomanci eased open; it creaked only slightly, and when they followed her into the room beyond some of their questions were answered, while many more sprang into existence.

“Siegfried!” The name Rue usually reserved for private moments with the prince slipped out in a distressed cry as she rushed to his side. He’d been laid out on an old bed with a wood frame and plain white sheets, and was so still and pale that he looked dead. “Oh… what has happened to you?” She fell down on her knees beside the bed, her eyes filling with tears.

“He has – ” Chrestomanci stopped abruptly as Siegfried opened his eyes. Beside her, Ahiru let out a little gasp of surprise.

“Siegfried…” Rue reached up to touch his cheek, but stopped short as his gaze met hers. Something about the blank look in them sent a chill down her spine, and she shrank back, feeling as though a dark cloud had passed over the sun. “My… my prince… you…” She turned to look at Chrestomanci. “Why… why does he look at me like that? As… as if he doesn’t know me?”

“Because he doesn’t.” Chrestomanci sighed heavily, even as Rue let out a horrified gasp. “As you no doubt have figured out, his world is where I was summoned to last night during dinner. When I arrived, the city was under attack by an evil enchanter.”

“You… you knew.” Rue’s mind spun as she recalled the events of the previous evening. “You looked at me before you left. You _knew_. You knew something was wrong there.”

“Yes.” Chrestomanci nodded. “I knew something must have happened there for me to be summoned out of the blue like that. However, that was the extent of my knowledge of the situation. I had no idea his kingdom would be attacked like that. There had been no warning, no prior threats, and this enchanter seems to have done a disturbingly good job up to now of keeping his activities quiet and unnoticed. Additionally, I am unsure of the reasoning behind what has been done to him.”

“What _has_ been done to him?” Unable to bear those empty, staring eyes any longer, Rue scrambled to her feet and turned her back on Siegfried, an almost accusing look on her face. “Explain! Who did this to him, and why didn’t you stop them? I need to understand!”

“Rue, it’s not her fault!” Ahiru stepped forward. “She didn’t – ”

“It’s fine, Ahiru,” Chrestomanci interrupted. She let out another sigh. “Rue, I know how you must feel right now, and I understand being angry with me for withholding the information until now, and for being unable to do anything to prevent it. I assure you that I did all I could, but –”

“No, I… I’m sorry.” Shame flooded through Rue, and she let her gaze drop to the floor. “I shouldn’t yell at you. I know you did all you could, I know it wasn’t your fault, I just… I…” She pressed a hand to her mouth as the unshed tears began to leak out. “I’m sorry…”

“I understand, Rue,” Chrestomanci said softly.  She gave Rue a moment to collect herself, and then continued. “As I said, there was no warning that the kingdom might be attacked, and so everyone was caught unaware. Siegfried and I, along with others, fought in the city, and I directed him back to the castle for his own safety, where I would meet him and help shore up the defenses in preparation for a siege. Unfortunately, I was detained until it was too late – he summoned me again to his side just as the enchanter, who goes by the name The Raven, had fired a weapon from Series One at him.” She glanced at Siegfried, who was still staring blankly up at them with no indication that he comprehended any of the conversation going on. “It shattered his heart into several pieces, robbing him of emotion and memory, while somehow miraculously keeping him alive. I was too late to prevent it happening, but I was able to pull back some of the shards and use them to trap the Raven in the throne room, keeping him from leaving or using his magic.”

“What? Why didn’t you take that chance to kill him?” Rue’s tone wasn’t accusatory this time, however, but perplexed. “Why trap him?”

“For one thing, he must stand trial for his crimes. I may be in charge of regulating magic in the Related Worlds, but it does not mean I am above the law and able to take lives at whim.” Chrestomanci shook her head. “Indeed, if I’d had the time, I would have arrested him then and there. As it was, however, I only was able to seal him before reinforcements from his army burst in. I had no choice but to bring Siegfried back here with me at once, out of an interest for his safety.” She let out another deep sigh. “It is frustrating, to say the least, that I must allow the kingdom to remain under his control for the moment, but there is no other option. But Siegfried will be safe here while we locate the missing pieces of his heart, and when he is restored the kingdom will be retaken.”

“Why wait till then?” Rue frowned. “Why not take some other people in and seize it right away?”

“It is not so simple.” Chrestomanci’s eyes hardened. “If the Raven possesses other Series One weapons, then we need to be able to find out about them in advance, and prepare for them, if possible. Investigations must be done about him and his forces and resources before any moves against him are made. And even once we are prepared there are still many things that may go wrong. There is a chance that he might escape somehow, and make his way here in search of the prince. He seems to have some sort of plan in mind in which Siegfried is key, and leaving him heartless while we launch a risky attack on the kingdom seems like folly, and a dangerous one at that. I will not put him and others in harm’s way should the effort at retaking the kingdom fail in some way.”

“That makes sense.” Rue let out a sigh of her own. “I mean, I want him to be restored as soon as possible, don’t get me wrong, I just… didn’t understand why you would do that in this order.” Her shoulders slumped. “There’s so much of this I still don’t understand…” She glanced at Siegfried before turning back to Chrestomanci. “Where do you think the shards are? How long will this take?”

“I’m not sure.” She folded her arms and took a deep breath, and then let it out. “We spent much of last night getting things set up in my office – it seems that the shards have yet to settle, and are wandering freely throughout the Related Worlds. All, that is, except for one.” She turned to Ahiru. “And that is where you come in.”

“M-me?” Ahiru’s eyes widened. She’d merely been listening to this entire discussion, not sure why she was present when it seemed to have little to do with her personally either, any more than it did with Fakir. “Wh-what do I have to do with this?”

“Quite a bit.” Chrestomanci’s gaze dropped, to the necklace Ahiru wore. “We were able to pinpoint the location of one shard – just one only. It seems, for whatever reason, to have taken up residence in that new piece of jewelry around your neck.”

“In – in _here?_ ” Ahiru’s eyes widened further, and lit up with hope and happiness. “Th-that’s good, right? We can just give it right back to him!”

“No. Not just yet.” Chrestomanci shook her head. “For the time being, it’s going to stay right where it is.”

“What?” Confusion and fresh anger reared up inside Rue again. “But – but why? Didn’t you just say he needs to have his heart restored before you can retake the kingdom? What about the people there who are suffering under the Raven’s rule? What about Siegfried himself? He needs his whole heart, why would you keep this from him?”

“Calm down, Rue,” Chrestomanci said sternly. “You misunderstand. This is not to delay the process, but to hasten it. The shard in Ahiru’s necklace will help us to locate and recover the others, especially once we have attached certain spells to it. Once the shards begin settling, we will find out which worlds they are in, and then with this one we can pinpoint exactly where they are and safely extract them for restoration. This is a stroke of luck that likely will speed things up and make things easier.”

“ _Oh._ ” Rue deflated instantly. “I see… that… that does make sense…” She felt herself relax a little, though not completely. There was still so much to do, after all, and danger and uncertainty loomed for Siegfried and Chrestomanci even after his heart had been reconstructed.

“So, um…” Ahiru’s hand went to her necklace, and she swallowed. “That means… you need to take the necklace away from me?” Her voice shook slightly.

Chrestomanci’s eyes softened. “No, Ahiru, I don’t.” She laid comforting hands on both Rue and Ahiru’s shoulders. “Rue, I promise you that we will work as quickly as possible to restore him to the way he should be. And Ahiru… I will not take a treasured possession from you again, rest assured. It never even crossed my mind. Indeed, my intent is actually to have you come along, and aid in the search.”

“M-me? H-help?” Ahiru’s eyes flew wide again. “H-how can I help?”

“With your magic, your necklace, and your kindness.” Chrestomanci smiled. “You have emotional wisdom that few seem to possess, even those older than you, and I have an inkling that it will be instrumental in coaxing the shards out of their hiding places. Moreover, it also seems to me that this will be an excellent learning experience for you, and a good opportunity for you to see other worlds.” She let go of both girls, only to take Ahiru’s hands in hers. “What do you say, Ahiru? Will you lend us your aid in this endeavor?”

Nervous as she was about the task and travels ahead, there was only one answer possible for her to give. “Of – of course!”


	4. Chapter 4

Ahiru turned the necklace over in her hands, examining the smooth, shiny surfaces of the joined hearts that dangled from the dark chain. Two days later, it still seemed slightly unreal that a shard of someone’s heart – a shard of the heart of someone she knew, no less – was trapped inside one of them. Which could it be? The red one? The white one? She didn’t know. She hadn’t seen it happen and there was no way to tell just by looking at them. She’d read up on gems and minerals over the summer holidays partly out of genuine interest and partly because she knew some people did magic with them and she wanted to catch up more easily, but all those books had taught her were the different types of stones, and words like clarity and luster and how big a carat was. Nothing to help her determine if a jewel had something lurking inside it.

At least she’d be able to keep it with her, though – that was an immense relief. Relinquishing her mother’s pendant had been bad enough, and she didn’t know if she could take losing a precious gift from Fakir as well. She took one last, long look at it before slipping it around her neck and fastening the clasp. She then rose from her bed and started towards her bedroom door; she’d dawdled long enough and needed to get going if she didn’t want to be late for breakfast and delay the planned trip into the village with Fakir and Rue.

She got to the playroom just in time – Fakir and Rue were already seated, and Anne-Erina nearly plowed into her as she hurried in to serve them the morning meal. Ahiru didn’t dare kiss Fakir on the cheek in front of the other two lest they both tease them, but he found her fingers under the table and squeezed them, making her blush and smile.

“It’s nice to already have a day off, isn’t it?” Rue commented as she buttered her toast. “I mean, we only just started the term, but still…”

“I know what you mean.” Ahiru nodded. “A-and it’s actually been while since I’ve been down to the village, so that’ll be fun! I think I might buy some candy first… what about you?”

“Actually, I… was thinking of staying here.” Rue suddenly became very absorbed in applying jam to her toast. “I’m a bit tired and don’t really feel up to it, and what do I really need to get, anyway? I spend too much money as it is and ought to save after all I spent on our holiday, after all…”

Ahiru frowned. “Rue…”

“Don’t look at me like that, Ahiru,” Rue snapped. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not – I’m not – anyway I just want to stay home, all right? And you’d probably enjoy it more as just the two of you on top of that.”

“Rue, it – it’s not like that.” Ahiru’s face fell. “I just… I was just worried about you… it’s okay if you don’t want to come, but – but please don’t think you wouldn’t be welcome, okay? I love having you along, don’t forget that you’re my friend and I still love spending time with you…”

“… I know.” Rue’s peevish expression vanished and her shoulders slumped. “I… I’m sorry, Ahiru. It’s just… with everything going on I’m… and I guess I _was_ considering visiting him, even though I know it won’t do any good…”

“It’s okay if you do,” Ahiru said. “I mean… people visit sick people in hospitals, right, even when they can’t respond? And I bet – I bet even without remembering you he’d still like seeing you and he’ll probably remember later when we get all his heart back.”

“I hope so.” Rue sighed. “I just… I know it’s only been two days, but I wish we could hear _something_ , anything. You’re going to go get those shards, right? I want it to happen already. And on top of that I feel so powerless, so… useless.” She sighed again. “I want to do something for him, I would do anything I could, but… there’s nothing I can do. And I hate it.”

Ahiru frowned again. “You don’t know that. Maybe –”

The door swung open, interrupting her – they looked over to see Chrestomanci enter the room. She took in what they were doing, and got a small frown of her own on her face. “Oh. I’m terribly sorry for intruding – shall I return when you’re finished?”

“No, go ahead,” Ahiru said quickly. She knew even without looking at Rue’s face that she felt the same. “What is it?”

“A heart shard has been located.” Rue gasped, and Chrestomanci pressed on. “Ordinarily I would wait for your lessons to be over before calling you to go retrieve it, but as it is Wednesday I would prefer to depart as soon as you’re ready. Do you mind going after you’re done with breakfast?”

“Oh! N-no, not at all!” Ahiru shook her head. “But, um… do we just have to go by ourselves? I mean… can Fakir and Rue come too? I – I mean, if they want to, I just thought… I just thought it might be fun, a-and a good learning experience for them too…”

“Hmmm…” Chrestomanci considered it. “Well… since it _is_ out of our home series and there are no classes, and the two of you are talented enchanters in your own right… I don’t see why not. If, that is, you wish to come along.”

“Absolutely!” Rue answered first. “I – if I can help in any way, I’d be more than happy to!”

Fakir shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Then I’ll await you three in the front hall when you’ve finished eating.” Chrestomanci nodded at them before turning to depart the room.

“Thank you, Ahiru,” Rue said softly, not meeting Ahiru’s eyes.

“Of course.” Ahiru smiled at her.

They all finished their breakfast hastily, and then made their way down to where Chrestomanci awaited them. Together the four stepped onto the transporter, and Chrestomanci nodded at the sorceress in charge of activating it. A soft humming arose as she did so, and with a slight crackle violet lines of energy surged through the magical pattern engraved on the floor, lighting up every part of it. Once it had been fully activated it glowed for a moment in a manner reminiscent of an aurora, and then the castle seemed to melt away around them and they felt an odd sensation of dropping through the floor, one Ahiru wasn’t quite used to yet. Their destination then began to materialize, appearing at first like a landscape seen through a rain-soaked window.

As the world came into focus around them they became aware of things in a succession: the chill of the air and the icy prickle of the breeze, the salt scent tickling their noses, the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Only then did things take a tangible shape instead of blending into each other in a great indistinct blur. Above their heads pale grey clouds blocked out the sun, lending a dullness to their surroundings; beneath their feet stretched a great expanse of sand and half-dead weeds. Not far away stood a massive building made of pale stone, its arched roof supported by chipped and weathered pillars. It also soon became clear that they stood on an island – all around them the land dropped off in sheer cliffs, and at the bottom only treacherously sharp rocks awaited.

“… Weird place,” Fakir declared after a few minutes of silent inspection.

“Y-yeah, no kidding.” Ahiru shivered slightly; she hadn’t realized that their destination might be colder than it was at home, where they were in the last warm days before autumn truly began, and Chrestomanci clearly hadn’t anticipated it either or she would’ve warned them. “Where _are_ we, anyway?”

“World 5-F.” Chrestomanci looked as perplexed as they felt. “Though I cannot tell you precisely _where_ in 5-F …”

“Look.” Rue pointed at the house. “The door’s open. What do you make of that?”

“I cannot say.” Chrestomanci shook her head. “We must proceed, of course, but let us all be on our guard – we have no way of knowing what sorts of people live here or how they will receive us.”

The three nodded, and followed her across the sandy ground to the entrance of the strange building. The door was indeed open as Rue had said, and swung back and forth on its hinges in the breeze. Chrestomanci went in first, and held it open for the others. The air inside smelled of old dust mingled with the salty ocean wind, and Ahiru saw Fakir and Rue wrinkle their noses at the same time she did.  She couldn’t help but feel relieved that she wasn’t alone in feeling a vague distaste for it; she never _had_ liked the smell of dusty, musty things, after all. The remnants of potted plants lined the walls of the foyer, which also offered them three possible destinations: either of the two hallways it branched off into, or the closed double doors in the center.

“Hello?” Chrestomanci spoke first, and rang the – dust-covered and rusted, Ahiru noticed – bell that sat on the small table beside the door. It let out a weak, almost creaky sound. “I am the Chrestomanci. I mean you no ill will, and would merely like to speak with the lady or lord of the house, please.”

Her words echoed off the marble walls, and gradually faded away into nothingness. Only a gloomy silence answered her, and Ahiru felt a strange shiver go down her spine. “N-no one’s here… m-maybe they left?”

“This house is on a _cliff_ ,” Rue said. “With no way down and no docks at the bottom. How could anyone leave?”

“We have not seen the back of the island,” Chrestomanci reminded her. “There may yet be something back there that allows for a mundane exit. In any case, though, it does seem to be clear that no one has been here for a while. It does not have the feel of an occupied home.” She stared at the foyer for a moment, considering. “There is so much ground to cover here that the best strategy may be to split into two groups for a swifter investigation. Rue, you –”

“I’d like to go with Ahiru, if that’s all right,” Rue interrupted. “If that’s all right with you, of course,” she added hastily as she looked at Ahiru.

“Of course.” Ahiru nodded. “I – I think it’ll be fun.”

“Very well then.” Chrestomanci nodded. “Fakir, you’ll come with me. I propose we four go together into this first room here, and then split off from one another. Is that acceptable?”

They all voiced their agreement, and so into the front room they proceeded. The air inside was a great deal more stale and musty, and all four coughed a little as they breathed it in. Cobwebs draped over what must have once been finely upholstered furniture, sofas and chairs and low tables, and they obscured also the shape of the chandelier that dangled from the ceiling. An old kitchen cart with dusty dished stacked onto it sat beside the doors, and a tarnished silver tea pot and mugs rested on one of the low tables.

“Hmph. Looks like the parlor of a haunted house,” Fakir said as he examined a shelf of cobwebbed trinkets.

Ahiru shuddered. “Oh no… please don’t say that, I don’t wanna meet a ghost…”

“Sorry.” He reached out and squeezed her hand, and she nodded to let him know it was okay.

“How old do you think this place _is_ , anyway?” Rue asked. She knelt onto the floor to inspect the fireplace at the end of the room, immediately regretting it when she stirred up a cloud of dust from under her, making her cough and wave her hand in front of her face to try and chase it away. “It’s… ugh… so hard to tell with all the…” She coughed a few more times. “All the cobwebs all over everything.”

“Rue, are you okay?” Ahiru started towards her, a look of concern on her face.

“I’m fine.” Rue stood up, clearing her throat a few times as she continued to wave her hand front of her face. “Just some dust… don’t sit on the floor, you’ll stir it up like I did. Bleh…” She scowled at the mirror that had been mounted on the wall above the mantel, and didn’t bother touching any of the knick-knacks up there for fear of being showered with more dust.

“The amount of dust and cobwebs indicate that this house hasn’t been occupied for some time, as I suspected.” Chrestomanci pursed her lips. “However, as you say, it also makes it difficult to guess at _how_ long it has been in this state. Once the matter of the heart shards and the Raven has been taken care of I think I shall see to launching a thorough investigation of this mysterious place.”

“I – I wonder where the heart shard is in here…” Ahiru said, casting a nervous look around the room. “That spell’s supposed to make my necklace react when I’m close, right?”

“Yes,” Chrestomanci confirmed. “If one had been in this room, your necklace should have lit up the moment you walked in.”

“What’s the point of splitting up, then?” Fakir asked with a slight frown. “If we’re not going to be able to tell a heart shard’s presence without Ahiru, why search parts of the house without her?”

“Because I have my own method of detection.” Chrestomanci opened her hand to reveal a large red gem that glinted dully up at them. “This is one of the detection units from the workings I have set up in my office, and it too will light up when we are in the presence of a shard. We will still need Ahiru’s necklace to draw it out of where it is lurking, however, so if we are the ones to find it we will bring the two together.” She closed her hand again. “In any case, I think we have dallied here long enough. Shall we move on?”

They exited the room the way they’d come in, and split up into the chosen pairs. It was darker down the hallway, and Ahiru summoned a tiny ball of light in her cupped hands to better see by as she and Rue went along. It lent her a little bit of warmth as well, which felt nice; she couldn’t help but think longingly of her sweaters, hanging in her wardrobe back home. How good it would feel to have one on right now, guarding her against the chill!

The first door Rue opened revealed a large bathroom. An open window flapped above what must have once been a rather luxurious tub, deep and wide and carved out of creamy golden stone. A crumbling paper screen separated it from an old toilet, and the long counter that two marble sinks had been set into was made of the same stone as the large square tub. A closer look revealed a shallow pool of water in the tub, no doubt from some recent rain that the window had let in, and the otherwise dusty mirror bore spots and streaks on it.

“Tch. Looks like it was pretty nice, before it fell into disrepair.” Rue sighed, and shut the door behind them as they continued on. “I wonder just what in the world happened here? Why would anyone just abandon a house like this?”

“I dunno.” Ahiru summoned more warmth into her little orb of light, suddenly needing it. “It – it’s kinda creepy if you think about it… like maybe they didn’t have a choice, maybe something horrible happened…”

“Don’t scare yourself by thinking like that.” Rue shook her head. “No doubt Chrestomanci’s right, and there’s something at the back of the house to let people leave. I like a good mystery tale as much as the next person, but in all likelihood there’s a perfectly ordinary explanation for all this.”

“Y-yeah, you’re probably right.” Ahiru swallowed, and brought her cupped hands closer to herself.

The next door revealed an old study, where the open window had scattered papers and ledgers all over the room in a disordered mess. Here too were signs of a recent storm: many of the books and papers bore visible water damage, as did the photos lined up on the desk.

“I _really_ need to learn more languages,” Rue said in dismay as she closed a book she’d picked up and set it carefully on a nearby table, trying not to stir up too much dust. “I can’t tell what _any_ of this says.”

“Me either.” Ahiru frowned. “I wanna learn more languages too, won’t that be important for being a Chrestomanci? I’m so behind on _everything_ …”

“Don’t worry about that.” Rue took out a handkerchief and wiped at her nose. “There’s some sort of spell to automatically translate people’s words, whether spoken or written, and that includes your own. I think I should be able to learn it too, I just… think it would be fun to learn other languages the ordinary way, you know?”

“Oh. Okay. Yeah, I – I get that.” Ahiru nodded, relief sweeping through her that such things would be available to her. Not that she disliked learning things the ordinary way, but the sudden thought that she’d have to learn countless languages for her job like that had been overwhelming.

They moved on when it was clear there was nothing to be found, and nothing was what awaited them past the next door as well. Plenty of other objects, some familiar and some strange, had been piled up in the large closet, but none of them bore a heart shard, which Ahiru was secretly glad of. She hadn’t been thrilled about the prospect of hunting through so many disorganized items to try and determine which one held a shard.

They came after that to a child’s bedroom; none of the scattered toys and clothes there made the necklace react either. Ahiru herself, though, reacted with a pang of sadness at the sight of the abandoned room. It looked very different from Uzura’s, and yet so similar, and a glance at Rue revealed that she was having the same thoughts about it. They nodded at each other and turned to leave, but not before Ahiru, in her clumsiness, stumbled over a stuffed shark and into a little table near the door. Her little ball of light and heat went out as she threw her arms out in an effort to keep from falling, leaving them in near-darkness. She managed to grab the table, but in the process knocked a dusty wooden box onto the floor.

“Ahiru! Are you…” Rue’s voice trailed off as the box hit the floor,and its lid opened. A mournful, eerie tune burst into scratchy life, setting the hairs on the backs of both girls’ necks on end. For what felt like an eternity they stood frozen in place as the unsettling music continued to play – dread grew in them as the seconds ticked by, yet they found themselves unable to move. And during that time, a prickling feeling on their backs also built up, and they did not _want_ to move, did not want to turn around, for fear of what they might see.

At last, however, the music stuttered to a stop, leaving them in shadowy silence broken only by the distant sound of the sea. Rue acted first, dashing forward to close the music box and shove it under the table with her foot before grabbing Ahiru’s hand and pulling her out of the room, neither one looking behind them as they left. Rue closed her eyes as she turned to slam the door shut, and the noise echoed through the house as Chrestomanci’s voice had earlier. They wasted no time in resuming their walk down the hall, marching with twice the speed they had had before entering the bedroom, and Ahiru summoned a fresh sphere of warm light in her shaking hands.

The next few rooms they investigated in a much more brisk manner, stepping inside to see if the necklace reacted and then leaving right away without touching anything when it didn’t. Ahiru shuddered and averted her gaze from the staring dead eyes of some grotesque sea creature that had been killed, preserved, and mounted above the fireplace of what would’ve been a cozy lounge of sorts, if not for that _thing_ and the general creepiness of the house it existed in. The sooner they found the shard and went home, the better, was the unspoken feeling between the two girls.

“It’s locked,” Rue announced, a bit unnecessarily, as she jiggled the handle of the final door at the very back of the house. “I do know a spell to unlock it, but…” Her eyes strayed to the double glass doors they could just barely see around the corner. “I’d kind of like to check around outside first, if you don’t mind.”

“N-not at all.” Ahiru shook her head. It’d be colder out there, no doubt, but the fresher air suddenly seemed more inviting after all their indoor exploration.

She turned her ball of light into an aura of warmth that shimmered like a desert mirage around her as they headed outdoors, envying once more Rue’s foresight in having worn a longer-sleeved dress today. The remnants of a rock garden awaited them; several of the rocks had been tipped over and lay on their sides, and whatever patterns had been etched into the sand had long ago been destroyed by time and wind. The gnarled old trees stooped and sagged under the weight of their long-neglected and untrimmed branches, and one thinner-trunked one had even snapped, and lay perilously close to falling off the edge of the cliff where it had broken the old metal fence that surrounded the yard.

“There.” Rue pointed to something at the end of the island. “There’s a gate – see? That must lead to however the people who lived here got on – and off – the island. Let’s go look.”

“U-um, okay…”

Ahiru followed Rue to the old gate, dodging around rocks and trees that creaked ominously in the wind as they went. Beyond it, a treacherous staircase had been carved into the cliff face, and at the bottom sat an old dock, with a battered old boat tied up to it.

“… That can’t be.” Ahiru turned to see that Rue looked pale and unsettled. “If… if the boat’s still here, then… then how…”

“Do you…” Ahiru swallowed. “Do you think we should go look on the boat?” She eyed the staircase nervously.

“No.” Rue shook her head. “Not alone, and not unless we don’t find anything in the house.” She paused. “Come on. Let’s go back to that locked room. Maybe the shard’s in there.”

She turned away from the cliff first, and Ahiru had to hurry to catch up. One glance at her face told her everything she needed to know about how unnerved Rue was by this discovery. She wanted to say something to try and make her feel better, but the words stuck in her throat, and anyway she soon found herself distracted by something on the back wall of the house.

“Rue! Look!” Ahiru dashed forward, curiosity momentarily overtaking her. “There’s – there’s light in there!”

“In whe – oh.” Rue tilted her head, confused, as she saw where Ahiru was pointing. “That’s where… that’s where the locked room is. And…” She frowned as she drew nearer. “What an… _odd_ window. The glass is so distorted…”

“Do you think they beat us to it?” Ahiru tapped lightly on the window. “Fakir? Chrestomanci? We’re out here!”

They waited, but no answer or noise came from the room. Ahiru did, however, sense something warm against her skin that wasn’t her spell, and glanced down to see her necklace glowing faintly in the grey, misty air. “R-Rue! Look! There’s – the shard _must_ be in there, you’re right!”

“Then let’s get in there!” Most of the unease in Rue’s expression vanished, and she followed Ahiru back through the glass doors. “Here… let me…” She laid her hand on the door handle, and concentrated. The tarnished old handle glowed for a second, and then a loud click sounded as the lock undid itself. Rue and Ahiru practically stumbled into the room together, Ahiru remembering only too late that she hadn’t recreated her ball of light before entering a semi-darkened room.

She would have rectified her error, had she not been distracted by the door slamming shut behind them and locking again. “Wh- what –”

“– the hell?” Rue whirled around and grabbed the handle. No matter what she did, though, it refused to budge, and didn’t respond to her spell either. “Ahiru! I – I can’t unlock it! We’re…”

She trailed off, interrupted by a trill of unearthly laughter that seemed to come from all around what they could tell was a large, long room. _Oh… visitors…_

“Wh-what?” Ahiru’s eyes widened, her vision struggling to adjust to the gloom. The light she’d seen from outside was a dim glow emanating from some object placed in the center of what looked like a lengthy dining table. “There… there _is_ someone here?”

 _If you can call me a someone._ A long, wistful sigh. _Ah… I haven’t seen people in so long… so very long… you **will** stay, won’t you?_

“Who the hell are you?” Rue fought to keep her voice from trembling. “Why have you trapped us here? Let us out at once!”

 _You do not wish to stay here?_ The voice sounded puzzled and hurt. _But why? It is a lovely house. I am sure you can be happy here if you try._

Rue’s eyes flashed and she opened her mouth to say something, but Ahiru laid a hand on her arm and shook her head. “Please,” she said softly. “Let me talk to her.” In a louder voice she said, “What happened to the people who used to live here?”

 _They… I…_ The voice paused, and Ahiru could hear a frown in it. _I do not know. They were so happy, and I was happy with them. They needed me, and I gave them light during the dark nights. But then one day I found myself alone… so alone… for so long I have been alone…_

 _Not anymore_ , came a second voice, and something red glimmered just behind the object where the first voice was coming from. _You have me with you now. And these two, as well._

Rue’s spine stiffened and her eyes went wide at the sound of the second voice. “Ahiru! That… that was…”

“I know,” Ahiru whispered, her eyes wide. It had been distorted slightly, but was undeniably Siegfried’s voice. Or a pale shade of it, at least. Her mind raced, even as she moved slowly around the table towards that red shimmer. “Are you… are you the feeling of loneliness?”

_Me? No, I am –_

_I think she was addressing me_ , the second voice interrupted. There was a pause, and then the red light trembled and took shape. Both girls gasped as they saw it – it was a translucent version of Siegfried, clad in rich clothes they’d never seen before. It was like staring at his ghost. _You. Who are…_ It trailed off as it saw her necklace flicker in the dark. _Wait… is that…_

“Yes.” Ahiru nodded. “It’s another piece of you. We’re trying to put you back together.” She held out her hands. “Won’t you come with? Then you won’t be alone anymore, you’ll be back where you belong.”

 _No!_ It was the first voice, sounding panicked. _What about me? Please… don’t leave me! Don’t leave me alone anymore! You have to… you have to stay with me! Forever!_

“But this isn’t where he belongs,” Ahiru said, shaking her head. “A-and it’s not fair to trap others with you. It doesn’t work like that.” She took a deep breath. “I – I understand what it’s like to be really lonely. I do! I was all alone for a long time too, and I didn’t have any friends. And I felt like I’d never have any real friends or a real home.” She looked down at the necklace, still faintly glowing. “Even when I got to go to a new place where everyone was nice, I felt like I didn’t belong there. But I was able to make friends, and I found people that loved me, and I did it just by being me.” She looked back up at what she could see now was an old lamp, and smiled. “I – I don’t always understand why they care about me, cause I don’t always feel like I’m anything special. But they still choose to stay with me and want me around, and that’s what’s important: that they choose to. You can’t force anybody to stay with you, they’ll only be unhappy.”

 _But where can **I** go? Who can **I** make happy?_ Despair crept into the voice. _I cannot leave this place. And if you take him with you I will be alone again. I don’t want to be alone. I need people to give my light to._

“You can come with us!” Ahiru took another step forward. “How about that? I – I’ll take you back to where I live, and you can give me light, and other people too, and I’ll make sure you’re never ever alone again. You don’t have to stay here by yourself anymore.”

_You would do that? For me?_

“Yes.” Ahiru nodded. “Nobody should have to be alone forever.” She took another hesitant step forward. “S-so, um… how about it?”

 _You say I would be able to rejoin the rest of myself?_ Siegfried’s shard spoke again. _I would not have to wander alone anymore?_

“Y-yeah.” Ahiru nodded again. “I – I’m gonna put you back in his heart where you belong, and get all the rest of you too, and you’ll be together again.”

 _I see._ Was it her imagination, or did the shard’s gaze flicker over to Rue for a second? _That would be… I have felt…_ It wrapped its arms around itself and shivered. _I do not like being on my own._

“Then don’t be.” Ahiru stepped up to it and held out her hands with her palms up. “Come with us, and we’ll put you back together. I promise.”

 _Very well._ It dissipated then, into a cloud of red mist, and the mist seemed to dive into Ahiru’s outstretched hands, where it resolidified into a small scarlet crystal that gave off a faint warmth.

“Thank you.” Ahiru turned to Rue, who was gaping at her from where she still stood by the door. “Rue? Do you want to carry this for me? I’m sure he’d like to be with you.”

“Me?” Rue hesitated. “But… you’re the one with the necklace… is it really all right if I…”

“I’m sure it is.” Ahiru nodded. “Do you want to try?”

“I…” Rue looked at the crystal Ahiru held, and then let her breath out. “All right. It’s worth a try, if you think it’s okay…” She came around to the other side of the table, where Ahiru was waiting, and carefully took the shard from her. She couldn’t help but gasp as she felt its warmth, pulsing gently against her skin; it seemed surreal to realize that she was actually holding a piece of Siegfried’s heart in her hands. She opened her mouth, but then closed it when she couldn’t think of anything to say.

Ahiru, meanwhile, reached across the table and carefully lifted up the lamp, cradling against herself. It was surprisingly light, and mostly free of dust. “Come on,” she said softly. “I’ll take you home with me now, and you don’t have to be alone anymore.”

 _Thank you._ The surprises for the day weren’t over – the light of the lamp shimmered, and then coalesced into the form of a tall, kind-faced woman with flowing hair, who looked to be made out of translucent flames. _You are a very kind girl. I… will be happy to illuminate you._ She wrapped her ghostly arms around Ahiru in a brief, warm hug, and then vanished back into her lamp.

“A lamp spirit, huh…” Rue was the first to speak up in the stunned silence that followed. “I wasn’t expecting to find _that_ in this house.”

“Me either. But…” Ahiru hugged the lamp a little tighter. “It was a nice surprise.”

“I guess.” Rue tucked the heart shard into the pocket of her cardigan, where it would rest close to her own heart. “Come on, let’s go – let’s find the others and hurry home.”

“Oh! Oh yeah!”

No sooner had they left the room than they spotted Fakir and Chrestomanci exiting a nearby door; from what they could see, it looked like they’d just been checking out the kitchen. Ahiru hurried over, her footsteps alerting the other two to her presence, and Rue followed shortly behind.

“Ahiru.” Chrestomanci’s eyes went straight to the lamp she was carrying. “I take it you’ve had more luck than we have?”

“Yep!” Ahiru beamed. “I – I found the shard, and got it, and Rue has it now, and I’m taking this lamp home cause the shard was with the spirit that’s inside the lamp and she was really lonely and the shard was the feeling of loneliness so it must’ve felt drawn to her and I didn’t want her to be alone forever so I wanna take her home, is that okay?”

“Of course it is.” Chrestomanci restrained a laugh as Ahiru paused for breath and gave her an imploring look. “Good work, you two – now we can get home and restore this piece of the prince’s heart to him.”

“I… didn’t really do anything…” Rue’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Ahiru was the one who convinced the shard to leave…”

“What? But you got us into that room!” Ahiru shook her head. “I couldn’t have done it without going in there, Rue, and that’s thanks to you. I’ve never tried to unlock a door with magic before and I might’ve messed up…”

“I’m sure you would’ve been fine.” Rue did seem to cheer at that, though, if only slightly. “Anyway, we should go…”

“Yes.” Chrestomanci started walking back towards the front of the house, and the other three followed. “And later I’d like to hear all about what else you two saw. This is a fascinating house, and I would greatly enjoy returning here with some colleagues to further investigate it.”

Ahiru exchanged glances with Rue; Fakir caught her eye too, and she could tell he felt much the same about the place. “Yes… of course…” both girls said in unison.


End file.
